The gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party ( LP),for the November 11 Imo state governorship polls ,Senator Athan Achonu has the described the state as a painted sepulchre, saying that the purported developmental stride of the current administration is nothing but an orchestrated propaganda to deceive the outside world when the state is indeed in a rotten state .
He has also urged Imo people never to cast their votes for conmen and persons with no verifiable sources of livelihood except politics in the forthcoming 11 November state governorship election ,stressing that such persons have nothing to offer them but misery.
Senator Achonu who stated this Owerri at the weekend during an interactive session with select journalists.
He reiterated that he had decided to join the Imo state governorship race to return the state to a progressive path of real development by providing the enabling environment devoid of politics to bring back Imo business men and women who are willing to invest in the state, but that they have stayed away because of lack of confidence in the government of the state .
The LP gubernatorial alleged that the state has been held hostage for several years by conmen and criminal elements who have always rigged themselves into power, but that the 11 November governorship will be different .
Said He: “I decided to contest for governorship election because of my believe we can recover Imo state back from those conmen who had held the state by the jugular for several years ,and to laid the foundation of the ‘Aku ro ulo philosophy which I have been preaching for several years .That is encouraging our people to bring part of the invest home to create will create jobs for our youths and ultimately reduce poverty .But , this will not be possible when you have conmen in charge of the state. This has been the situation for several years because a man who rigged himself to into office is not accountable to anybody but to himself and ,is not interested in the real development of the state.
Continuing , ” I know what I have suffered in investing in the state and how the state governments have always scuttled it. I had wanted to built a mega mall and that was why I had bought a 60 percent of the Imo Hotels from Nzeako, that 10 storey building that is rotting away today in Owerri was meant for the Radisson Hotel but the state government would not allow it see the light of the day. I was given a license for a refinery at Ohaji and industrial park but the state government also ensured that it was scuttled. So , our brothers are afraid to bring their invest home for fear of their investments being destroyed for political reasons but if I become the governor it will never happen “.
Senator Achonu also disclosed that his efforts to ensure that the Sam Mbakwe Cargo Airport was activated also came to nought .
” I had approached ex- president Goodluck Jonathan and even Governor Hope Uzodimma , then Chairman , Senate Aviation committee to push for the activation of the Imo Cargo Airport but they were not interested and that is why the Imo Cargo Airport has not been activated till today , rather what Okorocha did was to dash the Nigeria Air force part of the land along the Airport road and gave the rest to his cronies . But as a governor that would not have happened because it is huge loss to our state both in employment opportunities and revenue to the state.
People are shouting the praises of Governor Uzodimma that he is building roads and you ask yourself which roads? The federal roads that he is doing credit facility? And will reimburse the state with some of them with potholes ? Those praising him can’t visit their various local communities either as a result of terrible roads or for fear of being kidnapped or killed unknown gunmen which resulted in majority of the people fleeing the state? Even the governor lives in Abuja”.
However, he has assured Imo people that the Labour Party is the party to beat and also boasted that they can’t be rigged out .
